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Title: The Sword and the Olive: A Critical History of the Israeli Defense Force by Martin Van Creveld, Martin Van Creveld ISBN: 1-58648-155-X Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 02 July, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: By Jerusalem-based military expert Martin van Creveld
Comment: Written by Jerusalem-based military expert Martin van Creveld (the only non-American author on the U.S. Army's required reading list for officers), The Sword And The Olive: A Critical History Of The Israeli Defense Force is a straightforward accounting of the history of Israel's army, beginning with its origins in the early 1900's when Jews fleeing Russian pogroms banded together for defense against hostile Arabs, down to modern day Israeli military clashes in Lebanon and against Intifada uprisings. The Sword And The Olive is confidently recommended as an exhaustively researched, soberly written, and unbiased account that questions whether the Israeli Defense Force has exchanged the role of the underdog David for the role of the powerful, arrogant, yet ultimately vulnerable Goliath.
Rating: 4
Summary: Contrarian, but valuable.
Comment: Martin Van Creveld is a contrarian. This new history of the Israeli Defense Forces (TSAHAL) is by turns complimentary and critical. It starts with the development of self defense forces established in Palestine under the Ottomans and continues forward through the British mandate, then through the various wars up through the Intifada. Enough campaign history is provided to buttress the author's criticism and praise of various leaders. While Van Creveld is critical of the amateur (and often vengeful) nature of the early Zionist and Israeli forces, he does credit them for high morale, aggressive leadership, the ability to learn from mistakes, and to effectively improvise where needed. For Van Creveld the myth of Israeli invincibility rested on stunning successes and tight censorship that covered up mistakes and would-be mistakes. The fall of the IDF starts with the ill-considered invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and accelerated with the response to the Intifada in the late 1980s. Van Creveld sees the surest sign of IDF failure as the inability to participate in the Gulf War; this criticism is unfair and unrealistic as the Israeli military was not designed to project so much power so far, and any Israeli participation in the Coalition would have broken down the anti-Hussein consensus among the Arab participants. Van Creveld shows that the IDF no longer enjoys the invincible reputation and high status that it did 20 years ago. The book covers many topics : the development of Israel's arms industry, the "tank is king" mentality that was so disasterous at the beginning of the 1973 October War, the effect of Israel's nuclear capability, the entangling of party politics, the rise of the Air Force, the usually marginal nature of the Navy, and the status of women. Two interesting aspects of this book : the not-quite-standard English rendering of Hebrew and Arabic words (Mount Chermon for Mt. Hermon, Beqa Valley for Bekaa Valley) and the frequent citation to popular songs, jokes, and sayings that reflect the public image of the IDF. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Middle East or in the development of national military systems.
Rating: 1
Summary: Critical is the key word
Comment: Reading this book is like watching bloopers after a good program.
The only problem is... there is no good program here, only the bloopers. The fact that the author is biased is not the big issue (all authors are), but Mr. Van Creveld doesn't even attempt to disguise it. As far as the writing is concerned, the book is boring and repetitious and the constant comparisons of Israeli tactics with those of the Nazis are utterly sickening. If you're interested in the History of the IDF, avoid this book. There are much better and serious works out there. But if you insist, I'll be selling it for 50 cents at my next garage sale.
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Title: Six Days of War : June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by MICHAEL B. OREN ISBN: 0345461924 Publisher: Presidio Press Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Two O'Clock War: The 1973 Yom Kippur Conflict and the Airlift That Saved Israel by Walter J. Boyne ISBN: 0312273037 Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: 14 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Coming Anarchy : Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War by Robert D. Kaplan ISBN: 037570759X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 13 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Rise and Decline of the State by Martin van Creveld ISBN: 052165629X Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 26 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Warrior: An Autobiography by David Chanoff, Ariel Sharon ISBN: 074322566X Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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